Rogers Media uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. Learn more or change your cookie preferences. Rogers Media supports the Digital Advertising Alliance principles. By continuing to use our service, you agree to our use of cookies.

We use cookies (why?) You can change cookie preferences. Continued site use signifies consent.

Major health scare turns local man into cannabis activist

Flowering marijuana plants are pictured during a tour of Tweed in Smiths Falls, Ontario on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. Ontario has named the first 14 cities where it will set up government-run marijuana stores. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Despite recreational marijuana becoming legal in July, cannabis activists say their work is far from over.

One local activist says there are many myths circling around pot that need to be dispelled.

Mike Farwell Show guest, Peter Thurley, says he used to be one of those people who believed that those using medical cannabis to get high–were doing it to avoid their responsibilities.

However, this all changed for Thurley in 2015 when he had to have a 25 lb tumour removed in his abdomin that caused his bowels to burst.

He was faced with a variety of health concerns and was in constant chronic pain. “After starting to take cannabis […] and learning a little bit about it, I came to recognize that it’s a plant that has a variety of positive benefits for humans.”

Thurley says if you look at tobacco and alcohol–they have a death count, cannabis doesn’t.

He points out that in the U.S. pot is classified as a Scheduled 1 narcotic, which means it’s in the same category as cocaine and heroin. “It also means it has no acceptable or no medical use whatsoever, so when we’ve got it categorized as that, you create situations in your head about how can this be useful at all.”